I started to type "Chihuahuas." Chihuahuas are pretty common in the United States but they still might be considered a fancy breed. So this post is about adoptable dogs who have reached their adult weight, and it's less than ten pounds.
I've tended, as an adult, to like big dogs who look useful. That's a visual prejudice that does not necessarily pass a reality test. Small dogs can certainly raise the alarm if their home is invaded; they're better at keeping a low enough profile that intruders don't see them until they raise the "barknado"; and they can fight if they think they need to. Small dogs are easier to feed, clean up after, keep in a small apartment, and cuddle. Chihuahuas, having been bred in a warm climate for short, thin, low-shedding coats, are known for nonverbally claiming they're cold when they're not being cuddled. (They do chill easily, but they also learn to turn on their shivers when they catch the eye of someone they know is likely to pick them up.) They need relatively little walking, because just bouncing around their home and yard gives them a good deal of exercise. And they can at least scare rats and mice. Small dogs can be very useful to those who don't care about stereotypes.
Small dogs tend to live much longer than big dogs, too. Big dogs are "old" after five years; small dogs can live more than fifteen years if they're lucky. If you hate having a longer lifespan than any of your pets ever will, a small dog is probably preferable to a big one.
There are a lot of small dogs in the shelters. Whether or not you insist on a classic Chihuahua look, you're likely to find a cat-size dog in any city in the Eastern States.
And Petfinder, unfortunately, is not cooperating as well this year as it did last year. Somebody's obviously been tweaking the site to give visitors a hard sell, rather than making life easier for writers. Even as I typed "10101" into the appropriate space the site was programmed to remember that this laptop was last used to search for a dog in Kentucky. Actually this week I'm not going to search in Kentucky; these posts search for animals near New York, Washington, Atlanta, and one or two other places that are not the same every week.
I recommend animal lovers do this: Post and tweet everywhere you go online, during the next week, "If @Petfinder is about the animals, the site should be 100% cookie-free."
1. Zipcode 10101: Prissy from New Jersey
Prissy is a mature dog, eight years old, and set in her ways, according to the shelter. She doesn't like sharing her human with children or other animals. For a Chihuahua she's apparently not very cuddly, either; she wants to be near her human, but not to be held, as much of the time as possible. The shelter staff are really trying to recommend this dog to a retired and/or disabled person, and say they won't let anyone under the age of 25 have her.
That they want to know that you have a Real Fence, as well, does make some sense apart from the control-freaking about which member of the family adopts this dog. She weighs only five pounds. Predators could eat her. Drivers wouldn't see her in traffic. Small dogs need some protection in a world where everyone else, including some chickens, is bigger than they are.
To meet Prissy, click https://www.petfinder.com/dog/prissy-50559474/nj/wayne/hounds-in-pounds-inc-ga864/ .
But really...before the next dog picture, youall need to know that something about Microsoft's latest "update"-that-nobody-wanted-or-needed and Petfinder's data-sale service is really making it impossible for a person of merely normal determination to use the site. "Waiting for" this, waiting for that, waiting for a dozen irrelevant sites before Petfinder navigates between pages: Google, Apis, Cloudfront, Facebook, Captcha, etc. etc. ad nauseam. No normal person is ever going to sit through this. It took more than half an hour to open the article about Prissy and it's taking more than half an hour to open the page of D.C. dog pictures, and unless I receive a hand-typed e-mail from Petfinder assuring me that drastic changes have been made, this is going to be the Last Petfinder Post. I blame the Humane Pet Genocide Society. I think those people really hate it when a shelter animal escapes the gas chamber.
2. Zipcode 20202: Tiny Tim from D.C.
He's nine years old but his foster humans feel that, in his case, even for this nine-pound dog that's pretty old. They mean he has arthritis. Nevertheless, he has that defensive attitude some small dogs get. They seem to feel that if they don't challenge other dogs to fight, especially bigger dogs, they'll get no respect at all. Tiny Tim is recommended as fine with cats, shy but polite with adult humans, but apt to fight with other dogs and too nervous to be around children.
Expect a few reruns of:
"Is that a Chihuahua? Must be! Those ears!"
"He's pretty big for a Chihuahua."
"Actually he's a Miniature Pinscher...and Chihuahua crossbreed."
Well, that's what the shelter staff think, anyway, going on what they know about Miniature Pinschers in the area. He has no pedigree.
Tiny Tim's adoption fee is on the large side for a small dog, but it does cover all the standard veterinary care, beyond which he's not expected to need anything else but routine maintenance for a few more years. If you think this adorable face is worth $200, click: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/tiny-tim-50476440/dc/washington/k-9-lifesavers-dc19/
Admittedly, Rat Terriers are not everyone's idea of the cutest dogs, but these two formerly feral litter mates have a bond with each other that ought to count for something. (Also, there was a cuter picture of a tiny terrier, but his adoption fee covered microchips instead of complete veterinary care. Also, there was a picture of a classic Chihuahua that seemed to be nonverbally saying "You know I'm cuter than those two" as I clicked past him, but it's taken me three hours to get this far through the sludge that Petfinder has become and the littermates' picture is still not showing and I'm not going to click on another Petfinder page ever again until that site can guarantee visitors ZERO WAIT TIME.)
There was a sweet little story about these pups, too...but after more than three hours creating this post I'm too tired, too discouraged, and too unhappy to care. What's been an enjoyable process has turned without warning into something that nobody in their right mind is ever going to endure twice. I'm very sorry about this. To meet Elvis and Pru, click: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/elvis-must-be-adopted-with-pru-50327192/ga/dunwoody/rescue-me-ga-inc-ga535/ .
There is no bonus link. Unless our pressure gets Petfinder.com radically reformed, there will never be another Petfinder link here.
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